Mature Students

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what percentage of mature students began their course aged (a) 21 to 35, (b) 26 to 30, (c) 31 to 40, (d) 41 to 50, (e) 51 to 60 and (f) over 61 years of age in the most recent period for which figures are available. (188464)

The latest available information is given in the table.

*Number and percentage of mature entrants*¹ *beginning higher education courses*² *at English higher education institutions academic year 2006-07*
Age group	Number	Percentage
21-25	199,865	34.0
26-30	106,990	18.2
31-40	139,005	23.6
41-50	91,895	15,6
51-60	34,805	5.9
61 and over	15,395	2.6
Total	587,965	100.0
¹ Includes full-time and part-time students from the UK and overseas. ² Includes undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Notes: 1. Figures are on a HESA standard registration population basis and have been rounded to the nearest five so components may not sum to total. 2. Figures exclude a small proportion of students with unknown age. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what percentage of people studying a part-time level-4 qualification were aged (a) 18 to 21, (b) 22 to 25, (c) 26 to 30, (d) 31 to 40, (e) 41 to 50, (f) 51 to 60 and (g) over 60 years of age in the most recent year for which figures are available. (188465)

The latest available information is given in the table.

*Number and percentage of students*¹ *studying part-time level 4 qualifications*² *in English higher education institutions academic year 2006-07*
Age group	Number	Percentage
18-21	46,110	9.2
22-25	65,600	13.1
26-30	73,770	14.7
31-40	135,395	27.0
41-50	106,435	21.3
51-60	46,075	9.2
61 and over	27,335	5.5
Total	500,720	100.0
¹ Includes students from the UK and overseas. ² Includes all undergraduate qualifications. Notes: 1. Figures are on a HESA standard registration population basis and have been rounded to the nearest five. 2. Figures exclude a small proportion of students with unknown age, Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HISA)

Volume 472: debated on Wednesday 27 February 2008